Food court 11-22

By Judy Dyke

I wanted to offer you a few pumpkin recipes that, in my opinion, would be a welcome addition to my dessert table at any time of the year, however, it seems like most folks gravitate to pumpkin in the fall. I did have a request for a taffy apple made with Eagle brand milk, which I included, plus a couple of other items that were sent in to me.

Taffy Apples

1 1/3 cups Eagle brand milk

1/2 cup butter

2 cups dark brown sugar

3/4 cup white corn syrup

Pinch of salt

Wash approximately 30 medium-size apples. Put a stick in each. Mix ingredients together and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes and remove from heat. Dip each apple in caramel and then into ground nuts. Set apples in paper muffin cups or on wax paper.

Sopapilla Cheesecakes

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 8-ounce cans refrigerated crescent rolls

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a 9-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into a 9-by-13-inch rectangle. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned a golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix

1 package (4 serving size) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat all ingredients with an electric mixer on low speed just until moistened. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Mix pineapple and vanilla pudding together. Peel apples (soak in lemon and water to keep from browning) and slice. Drain the apples good. Mix with pineapple and pudding mixture. Add Cool Whip. Can sprinkle chopped nuts on top.

Pumpkin Patch Bites

1 15-ounce box refrigerated pie crusts

6 ounces sliced Black Forest or Virginia Ham

8 ounces sliced extra sharp cheddar, Swiss or Gruyere cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 425°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil. On work surface, unroll pie crust and cut each of the two crusts into 13 pumpkin shapes with a 3-inch pumpkin cookie cutter. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut 24 rounds from the sliced ham and 24 rounds from the sliced cheddar. Put 2 slices each ham and cheddar in the center of each of 12 pumpkins. With a small brush, brush beaten egg around edges. Top with remaining pumpkins, carefully pressing on edges to seal. Using a spoon make ridges on pumpkins by pressing into tops in a few places. With a small knife pierce ridges in a couple of places to vent. Place on prepared pan. Brush top with beaten egg. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light golden. Let cool on rack a couple of minutes before serving.

Streusel Pumpkin Bread

Streusel

2 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Pumpkin Bread

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup raisins

Position rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter, oil or spray. For streusel: In medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender, your hands or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Reserve. For bread: In large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, soda, salt and baking powder. Using rubber spatula, gently fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until just combined. Stir in raisins. Pour into pan. Sprinkle with streusel. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and top is golden brown, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Cool on rack 10 minutes. Pop bread out of pan, cool completely.

Elegant Pumpkin Pie

1 14.1-ounce package refrigerated pie pastry

1 30-ounce can pumpkin pie filling

3/4 cup evaporated milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 24.3-ounce carton Philadelphia ready to serve cheesecake filling

2 cups whipped topping

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup glazed pecans

Unroll each sheet of pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Flute edges. Beat the pie filling, milk and eggs until smooth in a large bowl, pour into crust. Cover edges loosely with foil. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°. Bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove foil. Cool on wire rack. Combine the cheesecake filling, whipped topping and salt in a large bowl. Spread over pies. Sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 2 pies.

This will give you a few good and simple recipes to try for anytime you get an inkling for something different. If you need to reach me, you can email me at judyd2313@frontier.com or drop a line to my attention to the BCR, P.O. Box 340, Princeton, IL 61356.